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What to buy, what to offer, which events to attend – December is usually filled with decisions. Here’s another question for you to think about: What are you going to do with your Christmas tree?
According to The Nature Conservancy, approximately 10 million live Christmas trees end up in landfills each year. There, they are covered with soil, which causes anaerobic (lack of oxygen) decomposition, rather than the aerobic (oxygen) process that occurs in natural environments such as forest floors.
Not only is anaerobic decomposition very slow (a tree can take years to decompose), but it also produces greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide that can contaminate groundwater.
If you want to avoid this, there are a few options you can take that will not only avoid damaging the environment but also help improve your garden, all of which start with removing ornaments, tinsel, or “flocking” (spraying fake “snow”) off your tree.
Firewood and mulch
At the end of every holiday season, my late husband, Johnfor removing branches from your Christmas tree one by one using a garden pruner in your living room. As he chops off each branch, he throws it into a large garbage bag at his feet.
When the bag is full, I take it outside and spread the branches throughout the garden to insulate the soil and protect the bulbs and perennial root crowns from emerging from the ground during winter freeze-thaw cycles.
Meanwhile, John would begin sawing the trunks into sections and take them outdoors where they would solidify over the winter. After six months of drying, we will burn the dried wood in the fire pit. Ashes to ashes, as they say.
In the spring I revisit my garden mulch and cut the fragile branches and stems into smaller pieces, leaving them in place to decompose further without disturbing the emerging spring garden. Despite what you may have heard, pine needles do not significantly lower soil pH, so they won’t endanger your plants.
Not only does this provide free winter mulch and firewood, but it also allows you to remove the tree from the house without leaving a stitch between the living room and the door. Win-win!
wildlife paradise
If you have a large pond, consider sinking trees to provide shelter for the fish. They will love this new hiding place.
Or leave the tree in its stand and place it in your yard. If necessary, secure it to avoid tipping over in strong winter winds. Then watch non-migratory birds make their home here. Bird feeders hung from tree branches will help further attract new residents.
If that’s not possible, just drag the whole thing outside and place it in an out-of-the-way corner of your yard to provide shelter for birds and other wildlife.
local program
Some communities collect special trees after the holidays and use them to strengthen dunes, resist erosion or provide shelter for wildlife. Some cities chop up the collected trees and provide the resulting mulch to homeowners for free.
To find a program in your town, county or state, call your local office or search online.
You can even donate your tree to a local farm; many will welcome your contribution to the food supply for their livestock.
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Jessica Damiano writes a weekly gardening column for The Associated Press and publishes the award-winning Dirt Weekly Newsletter. You can sign up here to get weekly gardening tips and advice.
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For more AP gardening stories, visit https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.